Kentucky Dream coffee blend will be available area Heine Bros. locations and Whole Foods Markets
Together with the Forecastle Foundation and Whole Foods Market Louisville, Heine Brothers’ Coffee broke “grounds” today on a new partnership to help protect threatened areas across the state.
Kentucky Dream, a fair-trade, 100 percent organic Nicaraguan coffee blend and merchandise line benefitting the Forecastle Foundation, is now available at all 13 area Heine Brothers’ Coffee locations throughout the Louisville area, as well as Whole Foods Market in Louisville.
Funding from the partnership will benefit the Forecastle Foundation’s Kentucky-based conservation. Working with Kentucky Natural Lands Trust (KNLT), funding will benefit the Pine Mountain project, the largest landscape level conservation project ever undertaken in the state. The area serves as a migration path and refuge for hundreds of species, some of which are found nowhere else in the world.
“Heine Brothers' Coffee has been committed to making a positive impact on our community, state and planet for more than 20 years,” said Mike Mays, co-founder and president, Heine Bros. “Kentucky Dream is an opportunity for our customers to partner with us to support the important work of the Forecastle Foundation right here in Kentucky.”
From each bag of Kentucky Dream, $5 goes directly to the Forecastle Foundation to support Kentucky environmental projects. Custom Kentucky Dream mugs are also available for $20; $2 from each mug will be contributed to Forecastle Foundation. Plans to expand the merchandise line are in the works. Heine Brothers’ goal is to raise $10,000 for the Forecastle Foundation in the first year of this partnership and to grow in the years to come.
Kentucky Dream will also help the Nature Conservancy’s work to protect the Kentucky Green River’s 9,230 square-foot watershed, one of Kentucky’s crucial waterways that gives life to more species of plants and animals than any other Ohio River tributary – especially in an unhindered 100-mile stretch that flows from the Green River Reservoir Dam and through Mammoth Cave National Park.
“By combining a unique blend of Heine Brothers’ fair-trade, organic product with Whole Foods eco-minded retail network, we will be able to provide consistent financial support and awareness for the most critical ecological hot spots in our state,” said JK McKnight, Forecastle Festival and Foundation Founder. “These organizations share our vision, and together, we can sustain our naturally awesome planet.”
Heine Brothers' Coffee has a long history of supporting the Forecastle Festival, serving as both a sponsor and vendor since 2006.
“Through our long partnership with the Forecastle Festival, Heine Brothers' learned about the work of the Forecastle Foundation to protect Pine Mountain with Kentucky Natural Lands Trust and the Green River with the Nature Conservancy,” said Mays. “It was an easy decision to decide to use Kentucky Dreams to partner with the Forecastle Foundation to raise awareness and the critical funding needed to protect these important parts of Kentucky's natural environment.”
"We are extremely proud of this partnership with Heine Brothers’ Coffee and the Forecastle Foundation. This is a rare opportunity to help protect endangered and majestic wild lands of Kentucky,” said Tim Roethgen, Whole Foods Market – Louisville. “Whole Foods Market’s business is intimately tied to both our neighbors and the larger global community we serve, so we’re excited to partner with the organizations that are doing significant work right here at home.”
The Forecastle Foundation is the non-profit environmental activism arm of the Forecastle Festival, which is held annually at Louisville’s Waterfront Park. The Foundation works year round to benefit conservation work in highly-threatened, biological hot spots. Since its inception in 2011, The Forecastle Foundation has contributed nearly $100,000 to education and conservation efforts in Kentucky and beyond.
Heine Brothers’ also currently sells Mountain Dream in collaboration with Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, helping to fund their work to foster political, economic and social systems that are fair to all Kentuckians.
About Heine Brothers’
Heine Brothers’ is a 100 percent fair trade and organic coffee roaster. HB opened their first shop in October 1994 in the Highlands neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky, and now have 13 shops and a mobile Airstream espresso bar, all in the Greater Louisville area. From the beginning, Heine Brothers’ has been committed to operating responsibly and sustainably – donating to numerous community groups, recycling, being founding members of the world’s first fair-trade coffee buying cooperative, buying locally, and even roasting on the world’s most environmentally-friendly coffee roaster. Heine Brothers’ is committed to continuing to deliver remarkable coffee shop experiences while staying true to our vision of making a difference in Louisville. For more information about Heine Bros., please visit http://heinebroscoffee.com/
For more information about The Forecastle Foundation, visit www.forecastlefoundation.org